Levi and Tori
by magichloe
Summary: "I'm an idiot." Tori says "Why?" "Because I fell in love with you." "Yeah," Levi replied, "definately an idiotic move of yours." Set over the course of a school year, this is the tale of two star-crossed misfits - Levi and Tori - smart enough to know that love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.


**Chapter One – The new girl**

He couldn't think past all that screaming, really. He didn't listen to music on the bus, it slowed him down, muffled the intelligence yelling inside his brain.

Everyone was obnoxiously loud, shouting louder than his thoughts were, and right now his thoughts were yelling _"be quiet"_. He never found anything but his breathing to be calming, relaxing. But on this god forsaken bus, it was haywire.

Suddenly he found himself screaming "Shut up! Your insipid racket is murdering my brain cells!"

And then it was quiet. There was a slight chorus of "freak" from the back of the bus. Levi pretended not to care.

He took the opportunity and put his headphones on, and stared dreamily out the window. He wasn't really listening to anything as he didn't really like that nonsense babble that people called modern music. He was into the classical genre, where it didn't take voices to make you feel something. Where the musicians were actually talented (in his opinion).

He found it to be serene, the sun rising over the plains, but that didn't mean he _minded_. He just wanted to leave the bus, everyone irked him. He slipped by easily enough, even if he was one of the most arrogant of them all. They didn't notice his height, or the way he stood alone. Maybe he was just too self-conscious, or maybe he was just too lonely. Never bothered Levi, the prodigy.

He hated smiling, yet he did it anyway.

He had no need for eating, but his parents found it necessary, so he did it anyway.

He didn't like coats, but he wore one anyway.

Might as well be Levi, the _lie__**.**_

But when he felt the bus jolt to a halt at a new spot, and it registered that there could, possibly, and he felt the floor shudder as _she_ stepped on, Levi knew the girl wasn't.

The girl was plumper than the majority of the girls on the bus. She wore a black skater skirt with tights, _ripped _tights, and a pair of old, maroon Doc Martins. She had an old, faded out flannel which seemed to be from a thrift store hanging loosely over her shoulders.

She was considerably shorter than Levi. Then again, everyone was. He felt his pulse beat against his bones. Just regular. Unlike him.

James, Mya, Remus and even Levi's sister, Hazel, had noticed her, too. They fixed her with a scrutinizing gaze that seemed to send a chill up Tori's spine.

Her hair was the most vibrant ginger he had ever seen. It was like she wanted to be noticed, to gain the wrong kind of attention. Her lips pursed as she went up the bus isle, looking absolutely furious. Obviously she wanted to be here as much as he did.

The driver muttered "sit" and the girl panicked, slightly, but still stared down anyone who dared to look up. Levi ignored her.

There were plenty of empty seats, it was just that no one wanted to share. Probably because she was different, and they didn't know how to approach someone who went by there own rules. Why did she have to wear that flannel? It was an ugly, dark, sea green colour that was oversized and didn't flatter her at all. She was very interesting to say the least.

"Sit bloody down!" The bus driver shouted

She stuttered. Levi moved over angrily, and the girl gave a look of sheer surprise before taking a seat beside him.

Levi looked behind him to see some slight snickers and smirks, but he gave them a warning gaze which silenced them instantly.

Then he waited for the bus to rattle outside his lousy, lousy school, where outfit choices where grotesque and he almost felt bad.

**Chapter Two**

Tori let kids brush past her, getting hit by their shoes and schoolbags as they ran from school in a haze of flailing limbs. It was a sea of unbridled humanity, and Tori loved it immensely. She hated it, too. It swamped over her head. She felt helpless, like a goldfish fighting an ocean current. Like Marty in _Finding Nemo_.

Tori chuckled from the stupidity of the analogy.

She just didn't have a Dory to speak of. She wondered how many years it would take her to get one friend in the sinkhole of perfectly manicured nails and wealthy clothing.

The one person she met was called Tyler. He was short and jolly, and always had a happy, cheerful, mysterious complex where he would look happy _all _the time. Always. Tori would glance over at him, and he would be smiling about one thing or another. It was normally something along the lines of "That teacher is wearing a cardigan! Ha!", "Oh yeah, your hair, that's funny!" or "See that butterfly? Yeah, that's cute, isn't it?"

Her fashion choices caught her peers' unwanted attention. It wasn't her fault that she wore whatever she thought best, it was their fault that they judged her for it. And maybe she just wanted to be alone.

But not alone in the middle of a crowd. Tori took out her Sony mobile phone and called her sister, Rose. Surely she'd listen, surely she'd understand.

Rose was probably in some far off place, in some fancy boarding school, not giving the slightest thought about her. She probably didn't care about her anymore, since she'd moved away, but Tori cared lots.

Tori felt a hole in his heart. She missed her sister lots, but whether those feelings were returned Tori doubted. Everyone had told her that having a sister was like having a built in best friend, that sisters were inseparable. Rose was beautiful, yes in the sense that she was attractive, but her personality glowed like a light and lit up whatever room she was in. She had admired that about her sister. Tori just wanted her to be here, with her, attending the same school. Maybe then she wouldn't feel just as alone and insecure as she does now.

"Hey, I'm currently not near my phone, but if you leave me a message I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks!"

That was it, but it was just enough. It was satisfying to just hear her voice again. Tori described what she had been going through in intricate detail before hanging up sadly. Maybe she'd receive the call somehow.

Levi saw the fierce red head phoning someone on the steps. She was sitting all alone as the last peterings of children skipped down the pavement, kicking up dirt. It was a sea of black in which one yellow sunspot reared its slightly rounded head, and then all the black was gone, the busses disappearing into the forest surrounding.

The girl had her heads in her hands. She was that type of person that bawled her eyes out when no one was staring fixedly at her. Levi nearly felt tempted to interrupt her peace of mind; to disturb her self-pity session, but he didn't.

Levi walked as quietly down the steps as he could, trying not to disrupt the serene quiet. After all, he did have places to be, too. He had to be with his _father_. Oh how he loathed his father. There was no other word to describe it other than pure, honest loathing. Levi never thought about it though, took up too much space in his mind palace. He liked to pretend it didn't take up all of his precious brain space.

But when he was on the last step, the girl looked up and spoke

"Hey." She said. She wasn't actually crying, but you would have assumed she had been.

"Hello." Levi said coldly.

The girl gulped, gauging Levi's response. Tori thought that Levi looked pale, icy.

"I just wanted to thank you. For this morning."

"People often do." Levi muttered "I don't humour them with misconstrued "You're welcomes"

"Oh…well, okay then."

"Hopefully I'll, never, see you."

Well.


End file.
